Look beyond the brand

Apropos of the report Students, parents attack school over Akkriti (April 24), it is upsetting to see how private schools are minting money in the name of providing world-class education and facilities.

Apropos of the report Students, parents attack school over Akkriti (April 24), it is upsetting to see how private schools are minting money in the name of providing world-class education and facilities. But when required, they fail to provide even basic medical facilities. Akkriti’s death has shown how parents get lured by brand names and want to admit their children only to these posh schools. They are willing to pay unreasonable amount as fees but do not check if that money is being used judiciously by school authorities. It is high time that we, as parents, open our eyes to the reality behind the schools’ brand names.

Rajinder Katoch, Delhi

Spare innocent civilians

Apropos of the editorial Maintaining a safe distance (Our Take, April 23), the world community must raise its voice against the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka. It is true that for the past two decades, the LTTE has been a big problem for the Sri Lankan government. But, if the Rajapaksa government really wants to help its citizens, it should first rehabilitate the thousands of civilians who have been at the receiving end of this battle. By confining them to transit camps, Rajapaksa is only creating a bigger problem for his administration.

S.K. Shah, Delhi

II

The Indian government must not succumb to pressure from regional parties. We should not interfere in Sri Lanka’s internal conflict. Just like we do not like Pakistan to meddle in our affairs, we too should maintain a safe distance from Sri Lanka’s internal problems. However, all countries must condemn the atrocities being inflicted on the civilians. As a responsible nation, India too cannot look away from the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka. The security and welfare of Lankan citizens is important. What happens to Prabhakaran shouldn’t concern us.

RATAN SHARGA, Lucknow

Too many cooks spoil the broth

Sitaram Yechury in Fine-tune the electoral system (Left-hand Drive, April 23) is wrong in stating that changing the present political system will do wonders for our nation. What he doesn’t realise is that coalition politics is hampering India’s growth. Regional parties are always on the lookout for opportunities to blackmail the government for their selfish interests. Has Yechury forgotten how the Left parties destabilised the political scenario in Parliament by going against the Indo-US nuclear deal? The comparison between the Indian and the Italian political set-ups is also incorrect for the latter does not have a multi-cultural and multi-lingual society like ours.

Rajiv Chopra, Dehradun

II

Sitaram Yechury is mistaken when he says that regional political parties help the Union government function in a better way. India, undoubtedly, is the world’s largest democracy, but it is one of the most badly-governed States too. The blame for this goes to the fragmented Centre, which is always being pulled in different directions by regional parties. So while leaders are busy resolving their petty issues, national development takes a backseat. The selfish ambitions of our leaders always go against the national interest. So, unlike what Yechury feels, a multi-party system is actually a bane rather than a boon for our democracy.